Saturday, December 26, 2009

Arriving Today, I hope.

UPDATED:

The Telefunken TLX 1 Professionals have arrived! They are lots of fun & sound surprisingly big, but I need to spend some time with them. They have 12 feet of thin speaker wire coming right out of the cabinets, like cheap all in one system speakers, but originally had DIN connectors, I bet. I may install proper binding posts. The cabinets are constructed like Braun and Canton speakers of similar vintage. They have great presence, but I need to live with them. I do like what I hear, and these could fill the bill for a lot of people (and I've met a few recently) who want good bass in as little space as possible. No these aren't close to mini speaker size, but they seem to go deep.

Also arriving today, a fantastic Sony TA-3650 integrated amp. The Vintage Knob provides lots of information here. It's the precursor to my beloved TA-F5, with a 60 watt/channel, DC amplifier. It's beautifully built, but Sony's industrial design is a matter of taste, many finding it dull. I think it's spare and serious. The machined solid aluminum knobs and heavy extruded faceplate are higher quality than most contemporary competitors (including Marantz) . I took off the chipped woodgrain vinyl sides (I may veneer them in teak). I think this amp looks much cooler in just a metal case. Like the Toshiba SD-420, this amp uses a swiss Alps sealed potentiometer for its volume control. I had to replace a broken one on the Toshiba, but this one is excellent: silky smooth and quiet.